Celebrating the Awesome Fandom of Tokka Week
by Amaniachwen
Summary: It's Tokka Week, folks, so dive on in and get busy reading awesome Tokka fic goodness! Day 1 is rated Tplus, and Day2-5 are rated Tregular. Day2: Tokka Blind Date Goodness! Day4: Never call Toph a *****, Sokka! Day5: Drunk at Zuko's, Tokka? Bad idea!
1. Day 1 Betrothal

In Honor and Total Fandom of Tokka Week

--

Day 1: Betrothal

--

--

Her lips traced the side of his jaw, and she nipped him playfully.

"Ow! Toph, quit it!" Sokka clapped a hand to his face, rubbing at the love bites.

"Oh, really?" Toph said, looking down at him leisurely from her cozy, dominating position atop his chest.

"Well, just with the biting. Not the other stuff." And he yanked her down to him again, sliding a possessive arm around her waist.

Still, this could neither sway nor divert her; she worked her way back to his chin and nibbled again.

"Why are you doing that?" Sokka whined. "It hurts!"

"You're growing stubble, and I love the way it feels," she muttered, pushing his hand away and continuing to explore this new, exciting gritty texture to his jaw.

"Ow! Toph, come on! Why is it we always do what you want to do? You never want to play with _my_ toys! Hey, are you even listening to me!"

"Nn-nn," she hummed against his skin, though otherwise ignoring him.

"I don't know where you expect this to lead. I don't like it," Sokka muttered, though he knew and she knew that they both knew it was futile. He would, of course, succumb.

Unless.

"Unless I have the upper hand!" Sokka realized out loud. He sat up swiftly into Toph, who slid, startled, down his chest and into his lap.

"Hold on a sec!" Sokka told her as he jumped up and ran across the room to his chest of drawers.

"What are you doing?" Toph asked with irritation. She heard and felt him going through each drawer, shoving things around in search of something.

"They're on the nightstand by the bed," Toph supplied.

"No, not those. Something else," Sokka said from all the way across the room.

It was a small room, but still. When they'd been together in bed all day, he seemed much too far away from her when they weren't touching at all.

She stretched out across the bed, waiting for him to find whatever piece of junk it was he needed.

"It's been longer than 'a sec,'" she mused. "But that's okay. I'll take all the sec's I need when he gets back over here." She grinned deviously to herself.

But what was this prop he needed so badly? Wasn't she enough? More than enough? She ran one hand along her body, wondering if something about her had changed within the past twelve hours and she hadn't noticed. Nothing had changed, but what she didn't know was how perfectly sexy she was to Sokka when he turned around, victorious, and saw her otherwise pale cheeks blushing gently, her long raven hair draping over her shoulders, her soft, lithe form waiting for his not-so-soft, not-so-lithe form to collide with hers again.

"Marry me, Toph," he said.

Toph froze. Her brain went blank. Or full. She couldn't tell.

"Sokka, are you—?" she stammered.

"I'm completely serious, Toph," he said, sliding across the bed to meet her.

He took her hand in his and slid a ring onto her finger.

"This was my mom's wedding ring," he said. "She and my dad were very happy together while she was alive"—He looked into her astonished eyes.—Toph, let's be very happy together always."

He had certainly stunned her speechless, he thought, as she raised a quivering hand to meet the other, feeling the ring with the pads of her fingers.

"Sokka," she breathed. "It's wrong. It's all wrong."

Sokka's face fell, and his hopes crashed and burned with those two words. His pain made him draw away from her, but she grabbed him back.

"I meant it's on the wrong finger, you idiot. _And_ the wrong hand!" she said, sticking her right hand obtrusively in his face. But then she turned it and caressed him lovingly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she chuckled, then continued in a husky voice, "and I wouldn't have you any other way."

"Me either," he said sheepishly as he moved the ring to the correct hand and finger. "I mean, I wouldn't have _you_ any other way. You know that, right?"

She blushed. "Yeah, I know," she said quietly.

"Because I love everything about you," he murmured, kissing her temple.

Her eyes fluttered as his lips brushed over her lids. "Everything about you," he repeated. "Especially…"

"Ah! Sokka!" Toph exclaimed, then giggled and grabbed for him, too, and together they fell back onto the mattress.

--

--

Some time later, once things had quieted down…

--

"Ow! Toph, why do you keep doing that?"

"Because," she said with quick kiss, "that means yes!"

--

--

--

A/N:

Tokka Week Day OonnnTWO! Haha This is meant for Day 1, but I posted it a bit late. My bad. Hope you all enjoyed! ; )

Reviews are more than welcome, they are _encouraged_! : )

--

P.S.

Tokka not mine, no matter how much I love them!


	2. Day2 WorstCaseScenario Part 1

Tokka Week

--

Day 2

--

Worst Case Scenario

--

--

"I am _so_ tired of my parents setting me up on dates!" Toph shouted, stomping her foot and effectively causing a tree to uproot and tip over.

"They just want you to be happy, Toph," Katara, the voice of reason, supplied.

"No, they just want themselves to be happy! Why am I never enough for them as I am? I mean, my whole life it's been, "oh, no, you're blind, so you are vulnerable and frail, so we must protect you from _everything_," but now it's like I'm nothing because I'm _single_! But so what? I _like_ being single. If I had a boyfriend, could I do this?" She belched loudly. Katara winced.

"I'm not a frilly girl like you, Sugar Queen, and I never will be. I am _not_ going on this blind date," she swore.

Katara listened with a friendly ear and a patient heart, and when Toph was done delivering her parental control rant, she began her wheedling, sincere though it was. "Toph, you are completely right to feel as you do. It's your love life to do with what you want, that's true. But your parents really do want what's best for you, even though that 'best' is limited to their interpretation of it. But I took it upon myself to speak with your parents about this and get them to agree to make a deal. The terms we came up with are that if you go out on this blind date, they won't try to get you to go on anymore. That's fair, Toph, so why not end the cycle here and now?"

Toph listened quietly, contemplating this arrangement. It _would_ get her parents out of her hair…at least for a _while_…

"Okay, I'm in," she said. "Thanks for butting into my family life, Sugar Queen."

"No problem," Katara grinned, eager to witness the events soon to come…

--

--

"No, Aang! I'm not going to let you set me up! Do you know what happens on blind dates? Desperate women suck the _souls_ out of you, and then they force you to empty your _moneybag_ to wine and dine them, leaving you a dried-up carcass with _no money!_"

"Well, some women do that, I guess, but not this one! I know you'll like this one! I've got a feeling in my gut, Sokka, really!"

"No!" Sokka shook his head violently. "Just because you and Katara are all lovey-dovey and make all of us single people want to vomit doesn't mean that gives you some kind of all-knowing matchmaker authority or something! I won't do it, and you can't make me!"

"Not even for a Sokka Treat?"

Sokka's ears perked at this, and his mouth salivated.

But still he shook his head.

"What about _two_ Sokka Treats?"

Sokka felt his resolve weakening, but he held fast.

"_Three_ Sokka Treats?" Aang tempted deviously. "And I give you money to pay for dessert?"

"Okay, okay! I give!" Sokka caved. "Now _Treats!!_"

"Here you go, boy!" And he threw three roasted legs of gooselamb down Sokka's eager gullet.

--

--

"And you're all set!" Katara beamed at Toph in the mirror, even though the Earthbender could see neither Katara's nor her reflections. "You look beautiful, Toph."

"Yeah, yeah. This guy's probably not even worth the hour it took for you to put all that gunky make-up on me." Toph felt what Katara had done with her hair.

"Easy, Toph," Katara calmed her friend's hand. "Don't rip at it like that. It messes it all up and ruins the effect."

Toph rolled her eyes at this and grumbled under her breath, but she adhered to her friend's counsel, feeling with careful fingers this time. She was surprised to find her hair softer and smoother than it had been in years. Since before the war with the Fire Nation. She considered this as she felt where Katara had pulled some strands back and clipped them in place with an ornate hair clasp; the rest of her raven hair flowed down past her shoulder, skimming the top of her rather low-cut dress, which Toph now fingered nervously. "Katara, I'm not comfortable in this dress. It's not me."

"Are you sure? You look really good in it."

"I want to wear something else," Toph said, blushing and covering her chest with her arms.

"Toph! Toph, dear! It's time to go!" her mother called from the other side of Toph's bedroom door.

"Just a minute!" Katara called back. "Okay, we don't have time to change you, so how about a shawl to cover you up?"

"A shawl? You want me to go on a blind date, one, blind, two, with no soles on my shoes, and three, with a _shawl_ on?" Toph barked a laugh. "Heh. Bring it on! That'll teach that blind date jerk to take me out on a date!"

"Great. Here. Whatever. We gotta go," Katara said hastily, shoving a shawl into Toph's hands and hurrying out the door with her.

--

--

"I am _not_ wearing a cummerbund, and you can't make me."

"Not even for a Sokka Treat?"

--

To be continued…

--

--

A/N:

Okay, I am loving this spin on the Day 2—Worse Case Scenario prompt so much, that I'm going to make this one a two-parter! I will post the second part later today, so please enjoy until then! Tokka-fan love! 3

--

P.S.

Nuthink es mine. Except the Sokka treats. Yum!


	3. Day2 WorstCaseScenario Part 2

Tokka Week

--

Day 2

--

Worst Case Scenario—Part 2

--

--

Katara and Toph entered the restaurant, where the latter would meet her blind date. A gentleman in a tuxedo greeted them from behind what looked like a fancy podium, asking if they had reservations.

"Toph Bei Fong party," Katara told him, and he nodded and led them to a table in the center of the large and glamorous dining hall.

As Toph took a seat, she said, "I never get tired of hearing people say 'the Toph Bei Fong party.' I hear it, and my would-be-spoiled-rich-girl senses start tingling, and it's like BAM! I know I'm in a needlessly expensive place!"

"Well," Katara said, looking around them, "it is that."

"Excellent! If the guy's a jerk, I'll buy the priciest thing on the menu. Quick, Katara! Read the menu, and tell me what entrée would draw blood from his bank account!"

Katara scanned the front of the restaurant as she felt around for a menu. Finding it, she turned her eyes from the entryway and skimmed over the stellar selection of fine dining. She cringed at some of the prices, then said, "The Duckotter Spinach Salad is really pricey."

"Huh? A salad? With duckotter in it? What's so expensive about that?" Toph asked, confused.

"Because it's…all organic! And grown in the Fire Nation colonies! It says right here, see?" Toph raised an eyebrow. Katara laughed weakly.

"Katara," Toph said, "what's going on? You're acting—"

"Well, gotta go, Toph! Haveawonderfulnightyoulookbeautifuldon'tmussyourhair!" Toph could barely understand her rushed farewell as she bolted off.

"What the—? Damn it, Katara!" Toph yelled. Thankfully, a the same time, a waiter came rushing out from the kitchen with two plates of yet-burning food, slamming the doors open just in time to cover Toph's loud expletive in a crowded rich-person dining hall. Not that it mattered to Toph, anyway, and she had half a mind, if her date ticked her off, to start shouting the filthiest language she had ever heard to embarrass him to death right there in front of everyone.

God, she loved it when she schemed up shenanigans.

The man from the front desk approached again. "May I get you a drink while you wait, Miss?"

"Yes, I'll have a Ginger Ale please. On the rocks." Winking, she pointed a thumb and pointer finger at him and made an uncouth "tch" noise with her mouth.

"Very good," the man said, ignoring her crassness. "And anything for your date?"

An idea occurred to her. "Yeah," she said. "He'd like a nice, big glass of milk. With a straw."

The waiter hesitated.

"His mommy never really weaned him," she disclosed.

"Very good, Miss. I'll be right back with your drinks."

Toph enjoyed a derisive chuckle in the name of already ten-minute-late date. She wondered if he was going to show at all, or if she would be stood up. It wouldn't hurt her feelings if he didn't show, but it would make the evening considerably less interesting.

Waiterman was back. "Here are your drinks, Miss. Your date has just arrived. Shall I escort him over?"

"Yes, please do, Jeeves. And mention to him that I am very upset that he kept me waiting," Toph said in mock-haughtiness.

"Very good."

Despite herself, Toph was actually a bit nervous to meet her date. She had been focusing so much on what she would think of him that she had neglected to concern herself about what he would think of her. In the brief span of seconds that followed, however, she made up for all that time spent not being nervous, and her stomach felt considerably cavernous and hollow with anxiety.

Her bout of self-doubt occupying the greater part of her mental faculties, Toph did not immediately comprehend the vibrations of a very familiar person approaching. But when he stopped dead in his tracks, recognition struck her and nearly knocked her out of her chair with one large sweeping gale of blow-by-blow realizations.

"Sokka?"

"Toph?"

"We've been set up."

--

To be continued…

--

--

A/N:

Oh, wow. This is turning into a three-parter! I might even end up with a four-parter on my hands. Haha! I'm loving writing this, though, and I hope it is as genuinely funny to all of you as it is to me. )

If you like what you're reading, share the love: review! .

Until my next update, most likely in a matter of hours!

--

P.S.

Only Jeeves is mine, but sort of not really because he's a parody. Heh heh


	4. Day2 WorstCaseScenario Part 3

Tokka Week

--

Day 2

--

Worst Case Scenario—Part 3

--

--

When the initial astonishment subsided, Sokka took his seat across from Toph, absently taking the glass of milk and, in his nervousness, chugging it all in one go through the straw. He gasped for air when he finished, then tried to put on a cool, calm, and collected act.

"So, Toph, do you come hear often?" he inquired, leaning on one arm, one eyebrow poised and oozing with nonchalance.

"No, I don't come here often. Do you?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"All the time." He was using his weird stuffy grandpa voice. Why was he doing that? Was he making fun of her?

"Let's just order," Toph muttered, taking the menu and opening it up. Sokka watched her as she stared at its contents.

She put it down abruptly. "I'll have the Duckotter Salad."

"Did you just read that menu, Toph?" Sokka asked, shocked.

_Damn, he noticed. Why is it he never picks up on this stuff any other time, but he does tonight? I didn't mean to pick it up—I just did. Now I look like an idiot!_

"Look over there!" she said, pointing behind him.

Sokka turned around and looked, but then he realized the absurdity of it. "Hey, wait a minute!"

_Damn it!_ _Why did I say that? Jeez, and only Sokka is thick enough to fall for it and actually _look,_ the idiot._

"I'm going to the bathroom!" _Damn it, I didn't mean to shout._

_What is wrong with me? Why can't I act normal, or at least _sane_?_

She chastised herself in this manner again and again, scrubbing her hands furiously in the cold water from the sink. She had a burning desire to scour away all the miserable makeup from her face, but she refrained from doing so for fear of looking like a terrible mess of splotched colors and powders.

Once she had gathered her wits, she went back to their table, maneuvering easily around chairs and bustling servers and waiters. Sokka saw her coming and appreciated the way her short form appeared to move so much more gracefully in a dress than in her customary Toph garb. When she finally sat down again, she didn't say anything for a time, and neither did he.

"I'm back," she said.

"Welcome back," he returned.

"So, uh, what are you going to have?"

Sokka blanched. While Toph had been in the bathroom, he had looked at the menu and nearly had a heart attack when he saw the listed prices.

"I think I'll have the Duckotter Salad, too, actually! It's sounds…delectable!" he forced out.

_So it is the cheapest thing on the menu. There's no way Sokka would order a salad otherwise. Katara, you scheming…_

"I'm thirsty. Do you think they have more milk?"

"Um, sure, I guess," Toph said. _It's not like anyone else here would order it unless they brought their kids. Jeez._

"Where's that waiter guy? Oh, there he is! Hey, Jeeves!" Sokka waved him over.

"No way! I called him 'Jeeves,' too!" Toph exclaimed.

"Really? Well, I mean, yeah, 'cuz look at the guy—he totally fits the part!"

"I know! And I can't even see him!"

The laugh that followed was the first honest, heartfelt one they had shared that evening, and things improved from there. They talked about what they were up to and various schemes for the future. They talked about the restaurant's snooty piano player, who declined to take their requests, condescendingly telling them he only played classical music. And in their joint irritation over Aang and Katara's deceptiveness, they gossiped about the couple's Holier Than Thou Falooty-tooty attitudes now that they had celebrated their eighteen-month anniversary and exchanged promise rings.

"It's like," Sokka said, scarfing the bread from the breadbasket once he had shoved his salad-sans-the-duckotter to wilt away at the corner of the table, "it's like they think they know everything about dating. I've dated more people than the two of them put together! If anything, _I_ should be setting _them_ up!"

"But they're already together," Toph said.

"Yeah, but you know what I mean. And sure, Aang is the Avatar, and he attracts the ladies, but he's a ladies' man _because_ he's the Avatar. I'm a ladies' man because I actually know the ladies!"

Toph had a difficult time following his argument, but what she did catch of it was making her mad. _Why is he talking about what a ladies' man he is when he's out on a date with me?_

But then something occurred to her.

_Maybe he doesn't consider this a date._

"Can _you_ believe Aang and Katara set us up, Toph? I mean, I can in a way, I guess, but what the hell were they thinking? It's—" Sokka abruptly shut up when he saw Toph's hurt, glaring eyes.

"It's _what_ exactly?"

"N—nothing!"

"No, what is it? Stupid? Absurd? Something you would never ever do if it hadn't been a set up?" She had unintentionally raised the volume of her voice again, but she paid no attention to it this time, too upset to care.

"Toph, no, that's not—" He felt all the eyes in the restaurant upon the pair of them, and he leaned over the table and continued in a hushed voice, "It's just that it was kind of shocking. Surprising, I mean. Not shocking. I mean, I hardly even recognized you, and—"

"What, does a girl have to be dressed up with makeup on all the time for you to notice her? What's wrong with being natural? What can't I just be as I am?" Hot tears sprang to her eyes. "Why doesn't anyone just want me to be me?!" she yelled, stamping her foot furiously.

A huge slab of earth suddenly shot out of the ground, and time seemed to slow to a crawl as Sokka watched their table, drinks, dishes, silverware—everything—fly up into the air and come crashing down yards away on the piano in the corner. The snooty pianist let out an ear-splitting scream and clutched at his chest, falling backwards off his stool.

"Somebody get a doctor! This man is having a heart-attack!" an elderly man shouted. At the same instant, a woman on the opposite side of the restaurant screamed, "EARTHQUAKE!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIE!!" Everyone in the restaurant rose simultaneously and made a mad dash for the exit, leaping over tables, throwing aside chairs, and all-around creating a stampeding mass of flesh and fine outfits and sparkling jewelry.

Sokka and Toph sat motionless in their chairs as utter mayhem shook the restaurant.

"Sokka," Toph said around the wedge of rock jutting out of the floor between them.

"Yes, Toph?"

"We need to go. Now."

--

--

They finally stopped running when they came to a park.

"Let's hide in there," Toph said.

"We can't. The sign says it's only open during the day. It's closed right now," Sokka objected.

"You can't follow rules you can't see," she said, hurling a huge rock and smashing the sign.

"Come on."

The trees provided plenty of cover, and they could only faintly hear the wailing emergency sirens as officials rushed to the scene at the restaurant to sort out the chaos. As they wound their way around trees and through bushes, Toph felt herself lagging, her stomach acting out against the exercise. When they stumbled into a clearing with a bench in the center of it, they stopped again, grateful for a chance to rest.

"I think I'm going to hurl," Toph groaned, leaning over.

"Duh. You're supposed to wait thirty minutes after eating before you run from the authorities for upsetting an entire eating establishment," Sokka said sarcastically. "Let's sit down on the bench for now, though."

As he led her to the bench, she suddenly realized they had been holding hands since escaping the restaurant. He didn't even seem to mind. Or maybe he hadn't noticed.

Sokka sat on one end of the bench, guiding her to sit down next to him. She did so, but found she had to lean forward to quell her upset stomach even the slightest.

_Oh, please, _please_ don't let me—_

But she did, and Sokka, surprisingly composed and undaunted, held back her hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other as the heaves wracked her body.

_So much for not messing up my hair and makeup._

Minutes later, when she had finally finished, she muttered something that sounded like "putrid." She lifted an arm, and with a sweeping motion, rolled over the dirt upon which she had splattered her dinner, in effect covering it with enough soil to keep it from stinking. The Earthbending technique was simple enough, but she lost her balance slightly, and tipped against Sokka's side.

"Sorry," she mumbled, trying to right herself.

"Here, lie down. You can rest your head on my lap."

Toph didn't know if she would have welcomed this or argued against it under normal circumstances, but under these _horrible_ circumstances, she just did as he said.

When they had situated themselves comfortably, Toph murmured something that was half-lost in the side of Sokka's leg.

"What was that?" he asked, drawing her hair back from her face.

"This is the worst blind date ever," she repeated.

"Spectacularly terrible," he agreed.

"Is there any way it could have been worse?"

"You could have barfed on me."

"Yeah, about that. I think some of it got on your shoe."

"Oh."

Somehow the silence that followed was less awkward than it had been in the restaurant. And even their non-talking out here felt more natural than their talking back there had.

_What does that even mean?_ Toph wondered.

"Toph," Sokka said some time later, "why did you blow up like that? In the restaurant?"

"I don't know," she evaded.

"Toph."

_I guess he isn't going to let this go, is he?_

So she sighed and opened up to him.

"I just hate that I prove myself to people by being fake. It's like no one will let me just be who I am. My parents think I'm some china doll for them to dress and play house with, and the only time they even want me out of the house is to go out on dates with people I already know I'm not going to like. And I only agreed to tonight because I thought my parents would leave me alone afterward, but then you showed up, and then it wasn't even a date at all," she finished lamely.

"This seems like a date to me," Sokka said.

"Well, I guess right now does, but…" she lost her train of thought as she realized the full effect of what he had said.

A chill night wind blew past, and Toph shivered. She clutched at her shawl, but touched bare shoulder.

"Where's my shawl?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe you lost it when we were running," Sokka guessed. "But, here, you can use my jacket."

Something occurred to her.

"Are you wearing a tux, Sokka?" Toph asked, sitting up in surprise.

"Yeah," he said, draping his jacket around her milk-white shoulders.

"What did you get all dressed up for?"

"For you, it turns out."

"Yeah, but I mean, a tux? Isn't that a bit much?" She pulled his jacket tight around her body, smelling him on it.

"Aang convinced me to wear it," he explained.

"I bet you're dashing in it, Snoozles," she smiled.

"Well, that's what I told him! It's deadly to put a ladies' man like me into a tux like this! Just look what's happened to you tonight!"

Toph grinned. "Am I one of your ladies, Sokka?" she teased, but only sort of.

Sokka grew serious. "I don't have any ladies, Toph. Just you."

Toph leaned over and hugged him, and without hesitating, he wrapped his arms around her, too.

"Sokka, will you kiss me?"

"Yeah, um, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow after you've brushed your teeth," he proposed.

"Okay, just checking," she said, snuggling into his warm embrace.

The midnight sky twinkling overhead, they cuddled up on the bench in the clearing for neither of them knew how long.

--

--

"Sokka?"

"Yes, Toph?"

"Are you wearing a cummerbund?"

--

Fin

--

--

A/N:

Did I really write this entire fic in a day? Wow! I am thoroughly shocked. And oddly proud of myself. Anyway, I absolutely love how this story turned out! I now consider this as close to me as a child, so please R/R and let me know what you thought of it! Appreciative responses are much appreciated by me!

--

P.S.

I wish more than ever that Tokka were mine, but it is not meant to be. Alas!


	5. Day3 Weather

Tokka Week

--

Day 3

--

Weather

--

Lavender Days

--

--

"Happy Birthday, Katara."

"Thank you so much for this, Aang. It's so beautiful." She was talking about the vast gardens surrounding them, but she only had eyes for him at that moment. "You're the sweetest man I know"

"Because I love you, Katara." Blushing deeply as his hands encircled her waist, she draped her arms over her shoulders and gently pulled him to her as she brushed her lips over his in a light kiss full of the promise of many more to follow.

"And I love you, Aang," she whispered in his ear.

But they could still hear it.

"You guys want me to Earthbend a room for you guys? 'Cuz ya' need to get one."

"You two disgust me!" Sokka burst. "Look around you! Today would have been great weather for a birthday bash at CandyCow Mountain, Katara, but you let Aang drag us to this big boring fanci-shmanciful garden exhibit instead_?_ And then you make out in front of me and Toph! A brother should never be exposed to that kind of stuff _ever!_ And Toph doesn't want to listen to it!"

"True," Toph put in.

Katara's bristled instantly, and she gripped Aang to her tightly—a bit too tightly, actually, to the point of hindering his ability to breathe —and shouted, "Well, if you don't like it, then you can get lost! There's enough room out here for you to do that! And we won't miss you either! Come on, Aang!" She released her wrestler-like grip from around his neck, took his hand, and together they stalked off.

"And good riddance!!" Sokka yelled after them.

"Jeez," he said to Toph, who followed him as he took off in the opposite direction. "I am really getting tired of that. It's like we can't go anywhere without them getting all lovey-dovey."

"Yup, it's a bother all right," Toph agreed.

"Always kissy-kissy this." His hands chopped to the left. "And kissy-kissy that." His hands chopped to the right.

"Exactly," Toph supplemented.

"I swear, they're just one step away from saying, 'I wuv you, shnookums' and 'Nawt as much as I wuv you, bibbykins.' I mean, they're already giving up the amazing funness of CandyCow Mountain to come to lame-o romantic places like this."

Toph merely continued nodding to and agreeing with his rants, but now that they were alone, she didn't really care too much about Katara and Aang and their intensely love-struck behavior. And she knew that most of what Sokka was saying was a pile of B.S. on his part; if he were in love, he would be far less likely to object to a date such as this.

Because it was a date for Katara and Aang. That was why she had subtly convinced Aang to invite her along because then, of course, he would have to invite Sokka along as well to even out the group, providing him some one-on-one time with Katara among the flowers. And as for the subtle convincing…yeah, it was more like a near-death threat, but what did that matter? She was here now, and so was Sokka; and if he would just stop yammering, they could maybe enjoy their time together.

"Come on, Toph, you're not saying anything. Aren't you bummed out to be here? Sure, the flowers are beautiful, but you can't see them."

"I can smell them just fine, thank you, and I can appreciate that and a nice sunny day outside just as much as the next girl," she said touchily.

"Oh, right, there is that."

He was silent for a moment.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck, slightly at a loss.

"Let's just walk for now," she supplied.

Soon the path split, leading them either back through a different area of the main gardens or leading them on to the path forming the perimeter of the meadows. Sokka told Toph the options.

"Let's check out the meadows. I want to smell an entire field of lavender," she said.

Eventually the stone pathway ended and switched over to a dirt path. Toph sighed audibly as her feet connected directly with the earth again. Sometimes it was just nice not to have anything to worry about, to just feel the dirt between your toes.

Well by this time, both of them had forgotten to talk, merely walking along companionably in silence. Before them the land began to turn upwards, gradually rolling upward and then down again to form a fairly steep hill.

"It's kind of steep," Sokka said. "Do you want to rest your legs for a while before moving on, Toph?"

Instead of resting, however, Toph picked up her pace. "No way, O' Lazy One!" she said. "Don't you smell that?"

"Hey, wait!"

Toph quickly ascended the hill, Sokka not too far behind, and when they both reached the top, a massive sweep of lavender lay below and before them.

"Wow," they breathed, savoring what they both knew was an amazing sight to see and fragrance to smell.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Toph cried, and with that she dropped to the ground and began rolling down the hill.

"Toph, wait! I don't think you're supposed to roll on the flowers! It'll smoosh them, and ah—!" He suddenly tripped over a mound of dirt, lost his balance, fell, and he, too, rolled down the hill…

Bellowing.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

His screaming drowned out Toph's delighted laughter as she reached the bottom of the hill and pitched forward into the flowers, landing on her stomach amongst the delightful smelling blooms. Sokka came crashing to a halt some yards away from her, instantly popping his head up through the pale purple flowers to see where he had ended up.

"Now wasn't that as good as a roller-coaster, Sokka?" Toph laughed, rolling over onto her back.

"Not exactly," he said, picking himself up and brushing off the dirt, grass, and flower he had accrued on this makeshift "ride."

He jogged over to Toph and looked down at her lying there in the flowers. He smiled.

"But it _was_ kind of fun," he said, offering her a hand, which she took, and he pulled her up.

"We should probably be getting back, though, since it took us a while to make it out here," he said. "Katara and Aang will be waiting."

"If they'll be waiting, anyway, then what's another few minutes? I just want to pick a few to take back," Toph said, leaning over to find some un-crushed flowers.

"Toph, we already flattened, like, ten bouquets' worth. Let's just go." He reached for her hand to lead her away.

"Nope! Sorry!" she said, darting away from him and further into the midst of the meadow.

"Toph, come back!" Sokka danced back and forth nervously along the edge of the meadow. "If we get caught, we'll get in trouble, and the last thing I want to get in trouble for is messing up some flowers."

"There's no one around!" she called. "It's just—ow!" She began hopping on one foot, then falling over backwards, pain evident across her face. "Ow ow!"

"What happened?" Sokka asked worriedly, running to her side.

"I stepped on a bee," she explained, showing him her stung foot.

"Ew," Sokka winced. "Yeah, you smooshed him up worse than the flowers. Here, I'll get the stinger out."

He knelt in front of her; and after brushing away the squashed bee, he removed the sharp little organ from her foot, careful not to let it break in two.

"He shouldn't have been there," Toph grumbled, smarting as she tried her foot out on the ground. "It hurts," she said.

"_You_ shouldn't have been, and here." He'd turned around, facing away from her.

"Here what?" Toph asked in confusion.

"Get on," he said. "I'll carry you back."

"All the way back? Are you nuts?"

"No, but I'm sure. Go ahead. Just put your arms around my neck."

She did so, curling her legs up as he hoisted up the both of them. He took her legs in the crooks of his arms, and then stood there for a moment, allowing himself a chance to adjust to her weight.

"Am I too heavy?" she asked, blushing.

"No, you're fine," he said.

He started forward, but Toph squeezed him tightly and asked, "Can we just stand here for a minute?"

"I guess," Sokka said. "But why?"

"It's just so comfortable out here," she murmured.

His chin tickled with the sound of her deep inhales and the gentle gust of her exhales, and he thought it actually was rather comfortable out there amongst the lavender. He did not know it then, but he would later always remember that lovely summer day not as a wasted chance for an amusement park, but as a perfect date: the smell of lavender, the sight of a field full of it, and the feeling of Toph pressing into his back, resting her cheek against his as they shared one of those perfect little moments of a lifetime.

--

Fin

--

--

A/N:

What a slice of romance! Some funny in this one, but not too much. I actually withheld a bit of the funny to keep it the end as cute and perfectish as possible.

See, I was going to reveal something that I will just go ahead and reveal here:

That mound of earth over which Sokka tripped?

Yeah.

That wasn't just me intentionally putting it there.

And that's all I'm going to say. ; )

--

P.S.

I do not own Avatar. Neither do I own lovely summer days or huge fields of lavender. If I had either of these things, though, I would prove a very rich young woman. : )


	6. Day4 It Takes Two to Tango

Tokka Week

--

Day 4

--

It Takes Two to Tango

--

--

The setting. a Downtown Nightclub in the Fire Nation.

The hour: does it matter?

The cause: to have some fun and get closer to a special someone.

The problem: it's not working.

"Stop being so mopey, Sokka. Just get up already and do that fetching lumberjack dance you do," she pestered him. "It'd be _such _a smile to my face to hear your graceless stomping."

"Toph, I already told you I don't feel like it, so leave me alone," he refused.

"And I _don't_ dance like a lumberjack," he added huffily. "It's actually my _Earthbender_ dance."

Toph's face twitched angrily at the very much unnecessary insult to both her and her kingdom. She restrained from lashing out at him, however, forcing herself merely to shrug and leave him to his own devices being a Lame-o Wallflower.

"Katara, there's got to be something we can do about that overgrown jerkface that used to be your brother," she yelled over the music to her friend once she had located her on the edge of the dance floor.

"Yeah, I know, Toph. He's still in the same rut he was in right after what happened with Suki. He's just not the type to forget something like that easily," the brunette explained loudly.

"Plus, he knows how to milk a bad mood for all its worth," she added, this time not so sympathetically. "He just has some insecurities he needs to work out right now."

Toph nodded, but she still looked rather down.

"Hey, do you want to dance?" Katara asked in an effort to cheer her up.

"Yeah, sure," Toph agreed, much less enthusiastically than she would have if Sokka had said 'yes.'

Katara took Toph's hand and helped lead her through the mass of dancing people. When they had found some local friends, they stopped to join their dance group.

Some time later, Toph felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to face the figure standing behind her. Of course, she could not see what he looked like, but she guessed by his deep, slightly raspy voice that he was none too ugly.

"You wanna dance?" he asked, leaning into her so she could hear him. She could smell the odor of beer wafting from him.

"Depends," she needlessly shouted into his ear, making him jump back slightly.

"On what?" he asked.

"Depends if you dance with blind chicks," she smiled, batting her eyes clumsily to stress the point.

"I," the guy said, leaning toward her again, "I dance with hot chicks." He leaned closer. "And you're hot."

"And don't worry, cutie," he added with imagined machismo. "I can handle the whole blind thing."

He winked.

But of course, Toph could not see that.

She smirked, however, offering him her hand. "Go ahead and sweep me off my feet then, babe."

Feeling Katara's eyes upon her back, she gave her friend the peace sign over her shoulder as Hot Raspy Voice Guy took the lead.

--

--

Sufficiently thirsty after several songs, Katara headed back to the drink bar for a glass of water. There she found Sokka slouched against the counter sipping on a Whirley Temple, spinning the drink's accompanying little umbrella between his pointer finger and thumb.

Katara ordered her water, and then took a seat next to her brother, watching him twirl the umbrella. "Having fun, Sokka?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. A blast. Wish I could do this all the time, in fact," he derided. "Come on, Katara, you know I didn't want to come tonight."

"But you did come tonight, Sokka," Katara pointed out. "Why? Just to sit here and pout the entire time?"

He looked away from her to the dance floor teeming with his euphoric peers rocking the night away without a care in the world. He gave his sister no response.

"Sokka, why didn't you dance with Toph?" she pressed. "She's why you came, isn't she?"

He shrugged, which was as much of an admission from him in his current mood as a fervent nodding was when he wasn't plagued by the malaise of unrequited love.

"At least, it's unrequited as far as he knows, which isn't altogether very far," Katara knew.

"Whatever words you two exchanged earlier, they don't really matter now. Just ask her to dance with you. And, trust me, Sokka, " she said, placing a comforting, earnest hand on his arm and holding his eyes with her own, "She won't say no."

Sokka considered this, but doubts taunted him with the possibility of failure. "But what if she does? What if—"

"Sokka, she won't. Now get up and go find her." She grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him toward the dance floor. "She's somewhere in the middle," she directed.

Reluctantly, but with the seed of hope in his chest, he made his way through the crazily shifting and waving bodies in search of the only girl who could make or break him tonight. He caught a brief glimpse of her just as a the upbeat rock number ended, and for a moment she disappeared back into the mass of people as a slow song came on and everyone found partners. Once everyone had begun the gentle sway of the slow dance, Sokka found it much easier to maneuver his way through the bodies.

"There she is!" he thought.

"But who's that?"

A large burly guy with a mustache had his bulky arms around her waist, holding her close. Too close. And her arms were around his neck tight. Too tight.

The better part of Sokka told him to leave at that moment.

The rash part of him didn't listen and charged forward.

"Toph, who is this guy!" he demanded rather than asked.

"Sokka?" Her mind and body were still reeling from all the fast-paced dancing—in intensely moving crowds such as this it was difficult to follow exactly who was around her and where people were. "This is, uh, actually, what is your name?" she asked her dance partner.

"Name's Shindo, but my friends call me Da Bomb," he said, winking at her again.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, this is Shindo," she said, turning back to Sokka.

"What are you doing dancing with some guy nicknamed 'Da Bomb?!'" he yelled.

"Well," Toph snapped. "If a certain _someone_ had not been sitting on his butt all night _not_ asking me to dance, maybe I wouldn't be dancing with _this_ bozo—"

"Hey, babe, that hurts Da Bomb. Which is me. Heh."

—"It takes two to tango, Sokka," she finished, suddenly dipping Da Bomb dramatically to prove her point.

"Yeah, and it takes one to BE A WHORE!" Sokka shouted.

He shouldn't have said that.

Utterly shocked, Toph dropped Da Bomb on the floor, and Sokka cringed, expecting an explosion.

But none came.

Stunned onlookers backing away from her, Toph merely stood there, her face cast downward, her hair masking her eyes and whatever emotion lay behind them. She spoke.

"Sokka, I'm going to say this one time and one time only. Leave. Now. Leave, I won't tear your limbs off and feed them to the wolves."

Sokka started to say something, but his brains returned to him, and he knew it was time for him to go. He knew she couldn't see to know anyway, but he couldn't look her in the eyes. He turned and left.

Outside the air was crisp and the night dark. Down the deserted streets he walked, tail between his legs, shame weighing down his shoulders. It had been such a mistake, such a very bad, very irreversible, very stupid mistake.

"But at least," he thought half-heartedly, "she didn't beat the crap out of me."

A distant rumbling perked his ears and jostled the earth beneath his feet. Pebbles began to bounce about like popcorn as whatever it was drew closer. Sokka turned around just in time to see an enraged Toph whip around the corner, riding a mass of earth.

"I CHANGED MY MIND, YOU ASSHOLE!!" she roared, adjusting her course after the sharp turn to track him down.

"Holy Aang!" Sokka cried, wasting no time in racing down the road to avoid capture and torture.

"Get back here! How could you call me that?!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry!" he wailed, darting around a corner. "ImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorry!!"

He ran over a stray catbee sleeping alongside the road, and it awoke with a sharp howl. "And I'm sorry to you, too!" he called back to it as he left it behind in his dust.

"Not good enough!" The corner barely slowed Toph down. "When I get my hands on you, _then_ you'll be sorry!"

She, too, came upon the catbee, which whisked around to fizz in terror as Toph and the galloping mound of earth bowled over it. Toph heard its muffled yowling beneath her, then it popped out behind her yowling still. She did not lose her focus, though, on the chase at hand, and she saw Sokka scrambling as he rushed past an alley and turned back to run down it.

"No fair!" she shouted as he hightailed it away.

Safe in the narrow alleyways, Sokka ran for what felt like hours. When he finally gathered the courage to poke a head out into one of the streets to peak around and check if the coast was clear, he breathed a sigh of relief to see that all was silent, all was still.

"Never _ever_ call Toph a whore," he panted to himself, fatigue conquering his body as he leaned against the alley wall and slid to the ground. Another stray catbee approached him soundlessly and curled up beside him. With a hand he stroked its soft furry back, and he felt he could fall asleep right then and there.

Then he heard footsteps.

"Maybe it's not her," he prayed soundlessly. "Maybe it's someone walking home after a night of drinking. Or someone who likes long, scary walks alone in the dead of night. Or maybe it's Santa!"

The sound of the steps stopped at the mouth of the alley.

Sokka braved a look at the person standing there, cloaked in shadow.

"And here we are, Sokka," came the menacing voice. "It's the end of the line."

Sokka whimpered. He looked for defenses, but he had none.

"It didn't have to come to this, you know." The figure took a step toward him. He couldn't run now.

"But you had to go and run your mouth." Another step. His heart pounded.

"It's a shame we didn't have more time…" She lifted her hands. No choices left.

"YAAAHH!!" Sokka cried, flinging the catbee at her.

Toph screamed as she unwittingly caught the catbee landed in her outstretched arms. The animal fizzed furiously as a lightning-fast struggle took place inches below Toph's face. "Ow!" she cried as she flung the livid creature to the ground, where it landed on its feet and sprinted down the alley.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, jumping to her side and forgetting to fear for his life.

"No, it dug its stupid claws into me!" she snapped. "_Ow._" She hissed with pain, holding her scratched arm to her chest, where she felt her torn up shirt. "Ugh, this _sucks!_"

"Toph, I'm sorry," Sokka said, taking her gently by the shoulders. "For what I said. For being a jerk and not dancing with you. For throwing a catbee at you…I'm sorry for everything."

"It really hurt," she said, lowering her head so she couldn't look at him.

"I know. We need to bandage it up and—"

"I didn't mean that," she snapped, yanking her arm from his grasp. "What you said to me, Sokka. It really, really…" She didn't go on.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I was just mad because I had just gotten up the nerve to ask you to dance, but then I saw you with that guy—that _idiot_—and I totally lost it," he explained. "I don't…I don't want to see you with anyone else but _me_, Toph. Not ever."

His confession hung in the air between them. He waited with bated breath, waiting for her to say something, to yell, even to hit him.

When she finally raised her head, she was smiling at him.

"Well, now that you've figured that out Snoozles, I guess we got what we came for."

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked as she took him by the hand.

"Just shut up and lay one on me, babe!" she ordered, and he happily, though confusedly, obeyed.

--

Fin

--

--

A/N:

I meant to upload this sooner, but life kind of got in the way. No worries, though, for it is here, and I am very pleased with how this one turned out as well! My brother helped me with the idea, and we spent a ton of time debating the whole "It takes two to tango. Yeah, but it takes one to—?" part. We came up with different things it takes just one person to do, and some of them were not funny enough, and some of them were a bit over the top, but I thought BE A WHORE was amusing and not completely unforgivable, so I went with that.

Then it was a challenge to figure out what insult Toph would fling back at him when she chased him down. "You jerk" seemed too tame, as did other similar namecalling, but then many expletives were a bit too strong, and I couldn't hear the Toph in my head saying them, so I went with "asshole," which is funny and not entirely bleeped out on television programming (well, they edit out the "ass" or the "hole" part, whichever, but you can still tell what they're saying).

So, yeah, there's some behind-the-scene's looks for you! I hope you all got a chuckle out of this one, and also that you are in the mood to leave a review! Oh! And if you have ideas to fill in

"Yeah, and it takes one to --"

and

"I CHANGED MY MIND, YOU --"

then please share your witticism! : )

Until tomorrow then!

--

P.S.

No one in this is mine. Except Da Bomb. But you guys are welcome to him, if you want…


	7. Day 5 Alcohol

Tokka Week

--

Day 5

--

Alcohol

--

--

It didn't make sense. Iroh was a fun guy. He was a funny guy. His birthday party should have been a blast.

But it wasn't. There were too many old friends, too many old acquaintances, too many old people they didn't want to talk to and who did not especially want to talk to them either. Sokka and Toph shared a sigh of boredom.

"At least the food's good," Toph supplied.

"And there's plenty of it," Sokka put in. "Or was, anyway." He patted his rather full stomach.

"Man, what are we going to do, Snoozles? All these people are old stuffy-britches who haven't had fun in decades, and Aang's stuck talking with them because _'he's the Avatar'_—her face and hands mocked amazement—and Katara's playing the part of the sweet girlfriend and Water Tribe girl, and Zuko's off being Fire Lord and having his butt kissed by all the old diplomats—I'm about to _die_ from the boredom of this lame-o party!"

"Hey," Sokka perked. "Do you see that?"

"Come on, seriously?"

"It's a drink bar!" Sokka continued, ignoring his slip-up. "And no one's paying for what they order, so it's gotta be an _open_ bar! _Oo!_ And the bar tender is a Firebender, and he's setting some of the drinks on fire!"

"Toph!" he exclaimed, turning to her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She smirked in return. "You know it!"

--

--

Some time later they were well on their way to the warm fuzzies of inebriation. Together they stumbled down a flight of stairs, where they ran into Zuko, who proved none too pleased to find them in their current state.

"You're invited to the royal palace for my uncle's birthday, and you take advantage of the drink bar? Have some respect!" he rebuked.

"Hey!" Sokka waved incoherently at him. "Hey. We have lots of respect. We have lots. And if you're not going to be nice, then you can't have any of it. No sharesies." He crossed his arms to form an 'X,' spilling some of the drink from his glass at the same time.

"Nonesies," he reiterated.

"Onesies," Toph repeated with a sway.

"Ugh," Zuko groaned exasperatedly as they continued their way down the stairs.

Sokka and Toph crossed a threshold into a great lounge located below the assembly hall where the main party was taking place. Various other attendees populated the lounge, some playing games of chess, some holding private—even flirtacious—conversations, and others appreciating the artwork displayed upon the walls.

Toph plopped down onto a chaise longue, and Sokka sat down beside her, or meant to, but missed. His butt landed on the carpet with a thud, and Toph giggled as he made a pained face and whined, "My butt hurts. I think there's stone under this rug."

"How did you miss this thing? _I'm _the blind one," Toph laughed.

"You moved the chair," Sokka accused.

"Did not!"

"Wellsh then, you moved the floor. You move the floor a lot, Toph. Because you're a Floorbender."

Toph hugged herself as she giggled uncontrollably.

"Hey, Sokka," she said when she had stopped. "I feel funny."

"Oh, we'd better get you to a bathroom. Zuko will kick our butts if we puke on his holy rug." He started to get up, but Toph laid a hand on his shoulder, holding him there.

"No, I mean I'm feeling flirty," she clarified, biting her lip.

"Ooh," Sokka comprehended as Toph's other hand reached for his face, cupping his chin. She felt for his lips with her thumb; and finding them, she leaned forward, hair in her face, and kissed him.

He welcomed her lips, and turned his head further to deepen the kiss.

"You taste like fire whiskey," Toph whispered when they parted, feeling her lips as she licked the upper one. "Tastes good."

"Not as good as whatever you had," Sokka replied, taking her fingers and pressing them to his lips.

"I want one. A fire whiskey," she said. "And I had a gin and tonic before."

"I'll go get more," Sokka said, standing up. "Wait here." He gave her a quick kiss as he left.

He wasn't gone terribly long, but each second felt terribly long to Toph. When he returned, a drink in each hand, Toph grabbed his sleeve and began pulling him to her.

"Hey, the drinks!" he said, spilling them slightly.

"Forget the drinks," she said, knocking them to the floor where they spilled and seeped into the carpet. "I want you more right now."

She lay back along the chaise longue, and Sokka followed, enjoying the feel of her chest against his. They found each other's lips again and subsequently proceeded to make out right there in the lounge, both too drunk to care.

"Ugh, get a room," Mai said disgustedly as she passed by them.

"Don't mind if we do," Toph called after her, breaking her arms away from around Sokka's back to provide herself maneuverability for the task.

"Toph, you're so sexy when you Earth-beauuuuugh!"

Toph proved too uncoordinated for Earthbending, for when she drew the slabs of stone upward to form her usual tent-like structure, one appeared from the wall, shredding one painting and knocking over two others; and the other rose too low, striking Sokka from his position atop her and sending him wailing through the air to fall some yards away, where he landed with a thud, groaned a bit, and passed out.

"That didn't work right," Toph mumbled. Ignoring the sandalized shriek of an old lady and the hurried exit of everyone in the room, Toph rolled over, thining how very comfortable the chaise longue was even without Sokka's presence and warmth…she had time enough to smirk affectionately at the thought of the accidental love tap—or knockout, rather—before she, too, drifted off to sleep.

--

--

Sensing a presence looming over her, she awoke early the next morning.

"Sokka?" she mumbled as she stretched. Her hands brushed against a fine silk material, and she opened her eyes, confused, as she rubbed a fold of it between her fingers. "Are you wearing some kind of lingerie?" She grinned. "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

"No! These are royal robes, you should know, you vandal! And I'm not your boyfriend." Zuko barked, snatching his expensive imperial garment from her clutches.

"Get up. You, too," he ordered Sokka.

"Huh...? What?" Sokka groaned.

"I said 'get up,'" Zuko repeated, deadly cross.

Sokka began to pick himself up, but he quickly lay back down. "Oouuugh, I don't feel good," he grunted, putting a hand to his head.

"Yeah, that's because you two gluttons took advantage of my uncle and of my generosity by drinking more than your fair share of the royal booze," he snapped. "_And_ disturbed the other royal guests _and _spilled drinks on my royal rug _and _ruined three of the royal treasury paintings _and _EARTHBENDED IN MY ROYAL LOUNGE!!" In his anger a bright burst of flames shot from his hand as he furiously pointed at the mess behind him.

"Stop yelling and kiss my royal butt," Toph said, covering her ears and shutting her eyes in perturbation.

Zuko roared in utter exasperation. "You two are going to pay for this, and you're going to clean it up! You have an hour, and if you're not done by then, I swear to you I will come back here and clean _you_ up." He spun on his heel and stalked out of the lounge.

"'_I'll come back here and clean you up!'_" Toph mimicked. "Jeez, he needs to come up with better threats. That there's just wrastler talk."

"Tooph," Sokka moaned, still sprawled out on the floor. "Toph, my head hurts. And so does my stomach, Toph."

"Save me!" he finished in a strangled squeak.

"From what?" Toph asked, grinning and winking as she lolled over the side of the chaise longue flirtaciously.

"From…from…does it matter? Shouldn't you just come and save me?" he exclaimed indignantly.

Toph tipped her head to the side, questioningly. "Should I? I really think the situation doesn't call for it, Snoozles."

"C'moooon, Toph. C'meer."

"Mmm…no."

"C'mere!"

"No."

"'_Meer!_"

"Sokka, you're so persuasive when you're whiney and unreasonable. You should keep going, it's really working," she said sarcastically, though still smiling.

"Just come over here, so I can kiss you good morning," Sokka retorted.

"Oh, well, in _that_ case," she sniggered, relinquishing the comfort of the chaise longue and crawling across the floor to him.

"Pucker up, you palace wrecker, you," she laughed, leaning down to meet his lips.

"WOAH!" Sokka shouted, jumping away from her. "What's that on your face?!"

"Huh? What's what on my face?" Toph put her hands to her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, her chin. "I don't feel anything."

"There's…it's _ink!_" Sokka realized. "It looks like someone drew on you!" And he began to snort with laughter.

"Why? What did they draw?" Toph asked, suddenly self-conscious. "What is it?"

"You don't want to know," Sokka choked hysterically.

"Yes, I do!" she insisted.

"Oooh, believe me, you don't!"

"Sokka!" she cried angrily, punching him on the arm. "Tell me right now, or next time I'll sock you with a block of stone."

"And I _won't_ hesitate just 'cuz your lips are gentle and squishy and fun," she added with a hiss.

"Okay, okay!" Sokka capitulated. "It's a—"

"I DON'T HEAR YOU CLEANING!!" Zuko bellowed.

Toph stood quickly, her head bowed, letting her hair cover her face.

"I'm going to wash whatever this is off my face. _You_ can clean all this up," she snarled and exited the room, leaving behind an outraged Sokka to deal with the mess.

"But this is all _your_ Earthbending!" he hollered after her. "_Damn it!!"_

--

--

When Toph came back, Katara and Aang at her side, Sokka was grumbling, sweeping up broken glass, dirt, and tattered canvas. He glared back at his friends over his shoulder; and seeing Toph, began guffawing.

"Tried to wash it off, and it didn't work, huh? The ink's smeared all over you now!"

"Watch your mouth, or I'll smear it all over you, too!" she shouted, clenching her fist.

"I don't think you'll have to do that, Toph," Aang intimated with a broad grin.

"What? What does that mean?" Sokka asked suspiciously.

"Ooh, it just appears that someone's drawn all over your face as well!" Katara snickered gleefully, gripping her side as her laughter grew.

"Damn it, was it you guys?" Sokka accused, brandishing the broom at them menacingly (or attempting to do so menacingly anyway).

"No, but I wish it was! It's the greatest prank ever!" Aang exclaimed, joining Katara in her mirth.

"Gee, Sokka, I wish I could be sympathetic, but seeing as you so kindly laughed in my face at me, I don't think I'll be able to manage that," Toph said with a vindictive smirk. "So HAHAHAHAHA!"

"You guys are jerks!" Sokka fumed, rubbing furiously at his face.

"It's just—" Aang panted between laughs. "It's just too funny!"

"Glad you appreciated it, Aang," came a voice from the doorway. "I had to teach these two a lesson. What happens when you get drunk and pass out in someone else's place instead of your own."

Zuko stepped into the room, now dressed in his Firebending gear.

"Zuko, you—?!" Toph and Sokka cried.

"Playtime's over, you overgrown babies. We're going to do things my way. Now CLEAN!" And he sprang forward, fists out, fireballs out, chasing them around the room as they raced to finish the job ASAP.

--

Fin

--

--

A/N:

And now I would like to respond to all those who have reviewed these fanfics I have so enjoyed writing!

SparklePants92-- I'm so glad you're enjoying the posts! I will definitely keep them coming, so I hope you keep on reading! ; ) And it's nice having a brother, but we're not best friends all the time. Lol Brothers can be a real pain sometimes. (Sorry, Mo! )

TwilightGD-- Yeah, I'm trying to do different genres/tones for each day. This one turned out a lot like my It Takes Two to Tango entry, but that's where it led me, and I don't argue with my stories too much when the creative juices start flowing. Lol

MoonlightSpirit-- It makes me so happy to hear that my story cheered you up! On a writer's list of Top 10 Best Things to hear from a reader, that is far and above at the top. And I hope you're feeling better from whatever was making you feel down. : /

kasplosion-- Yeah, the three parts were not planned _at all_. They just happened, and I think that's why I have a blister on the pad of my right middle finger…lol Oh, and the cummerbund is that "brightly colored pleated sash" thing (thank you, Word Dictionary) guys wear wrapped around there waists when they wear tuxedos. They're pretty standard and everything, but I just think they look ridiculous. Lol

LordSneeze-- Bipolar chapter, huh? Sorry! XD Oh, and Katara shenanigans death for sure. Remember the run-in with Combustion Man in the episode where Toph is pulling all her scams? Yeah, death for sure. Lol

E-- Heh heh Glad you liked the fic! And Jeeves asked me to not include him please in the fic, but I kind of ignored him and forced him to make an appearance anyway. He made it out of the restaurant safely, by the way. ; )

margaritanightly-- Sokka treats can convince Sokka to do _anything_. ; )


	8. Day6 Crossdressing

Tokka Week

--

Day 6

--

Cross-dressing

--

--

Sokka: Hello, folks, and welcome to Tokka Week: Day 6 Cross-dressing! Now let's go ahead and get started 'cuz we've got a lot to cover today. Haha! Get it? A lot to cover? Ah ha ha, I just slay me.

Toph: Yeah, and you and nobody else, Snoozles. Lame jokes like that won't get you anywhere in life. Except maybe a position as the less-than-kick-ass –yet-funny-and-lovable sidekick to some awesome hero who could use you to lick his boots.

Sokka: Aw, Toph, do you really think I'm funny and lovable?

Toph: No! And that's not the point! We're moving on, got a lot to cover, yuk yuk—stop looking at me like that!

Sokka: Huh? How do you know I'm looking at you?

Toph: I can just tell! I just get all tingley and—"

Sokka: I make you tingley? Wow! Sokka for the win! OH, yeah!

Toph: And queasy!! I was going to say 'and queasy'! And if you don't wipe that damn grin off your face, I'll do it for you!

Sokka: How did you—?

Toph: _Lucky guess._

Sokka: Oh. heh heh Woops.

Toph: Yeah, _woops_. Anyway, down to business. We're here today to have a discussion. About what? Good thing you asked. We're going to tell you. But, first, meet our discussion panel. Discussion Panel, meet INSERT YOUR NAME HERE. INSERT YOUR NAME HERE, meet Discussion Panel. Excellent. Now, Sokka, tell the lovely ladies and gents out there what they're here for.

Sokka: They're over here, Toph.

Toph: # wooden floors. This stuff's just going to rot at some point anyway.

Sokka: Indeed it will. And cross-dressing! That is our topic today, so let's discuss it! And _go_, Aang!

Aang: Go where?

Sokka: No where! I mean go! Talk! Say something mildly interesting!

Aang: About cross-dressing? I don't know what to say. It's…it's not funny to make a girl actor be a guy in a play!

Sokka: Yes! Yes, it is funny! It is even hysterical. Katara, thoughts?

Katara: Well, I don't really get why people would cross-dress outside of plays and stuff, but I think it could be a form of self-expression for people who maybe really need that kind of outlet somehow, and—

Sokka: You were supposed to say 'no,' Katara. That would have been the joke. 'Thoughts, Katara?' 'Why, no, Sokka.' 'Didn't think so, Katara.' And you're stupid. See? Like that.

Katara: Oh, _ha ha_. Sokka, you're a jerk.

Suki: I second that.

Sokka: Suki, not here! We'll talk later!

Suki: Talk to yourself about it. I'm tired of your childishness.

Sokka: Childishness? Let me ask you something. Could a child grow chin hairs like these? No, I think not! I'm a certifiable man with a certifiable beard in progress.

Toph: And how long have you been working on that beard there, Snoozles?

Sokka: Since yesterday.

Katara: More like since two weeks ago.

Sokka: Shut up, Katara! You don't know!

Katara: Oh, yes, I do. You know how? Because my shaving cream bottles aren't empty!

Sokka: Katara, I am shocked and appalled that you would even suggest that I use your shaving cream when I shave! Because I don't!

Katara: Bison. Note from the Author: Avatar-world colloquialism for "bull," as in "B.S." I made it up. Thanks! Every time you shave that baby face of ours, you draw smiley faces into the huge blobs you leave on the mirror, and you make ugly mutant snowmen all over the counter and sink.

Sokka: Hey! Those are happy unsuspecting dinosaurs around the watering hole just before the big happy death-ball meteors wipe them out. It's artistic expression that always gets interrupted just before the good part when I rinse them all down the drain and make them _exsinkt_. Get it? Extinct? Exsinkt? Oh, it's priceless, and yet _so_ worth it!

Zuko: Shouldn't we actually be discussing whatever it is we're here for, and not talking about Sokka's stupid faux-world domination fetishes?

Katara: Okay! Then let's talk about how instead of using his own man-scented stuff, Sokka goes against the social norms by using women's beauty products on his face! Peach Orchard scented at that! It's not cross-dressing, no—but it _is cross-shaving!_

Aang: Yeah, even I can tell that was a complete miss, Katara.

Katara: Shut up, Aang!

Sokka: All of you, shut up! I'm one of the announcers, and my honor has been scorned by Mr. Scarface over here! Zuko, playing with poofy shaving cream dinosaurs is not a faux-rule-the-world whatever fetish! And look who's talking, son of ex-Fire Lord Ozai, aka _The Phoenix King!_ Ooh, scary! Oh, please, Mr. Phoenix, sir, don't hurt me and burn my house to the ground!

Azula: Shut your mouth! Phoenix King Ozai is more powerful and manly and incredible than you will ever be, pretty boy, and don't you forget it!

Sokka: You think I'm pretty?

Toph: Ugh, Sokka, gross. Don't be flattered by _her._

Azula: It wasn't flattery. If I wanted to flatter someone, I'd flatter that hot guy over there.

Jet: You talkin' about me, babe?

Azula: You'd better believe it. 'Cuz you're hot. And I like my men hot. Because I'm a Firebender, and Firebenders work with hot stuff all the time because it's fire, and you're like fire. Because you're so hot.

Jet: Yeeaah…I'm kind of already taken…by Death.

Azula: Ugh, it's always something with guys. You think they're men, but they're really just boys who don't know what they're missing when it comes to a strong, dominating woman.

Suki: I know, right!

Azula: Shut up. Don't think you can sympathize with me. You can't. The only person who could even remotely share in my bitchy attitude would be Mai, but she's also very stupid and quiet and likes my brother for some ridiculous reason.

Mai: The only thing ridiculous is that I was ever friends with you.

Azula: Oh, no, that's not ridiculous. You were friends with me because I kept your boring life interesting. I keep all of your lives interesting, you borings body bags of filth!

Ty Lee:My life isn't boring! I love my life! And guys waiting on me hand and foot—it's wonderful!

Azula: Shut up, Ty Lee, nobody cares.

Toph: Cork it, Azula, or we'll pull this rope here, and the trapdoor under you will open.

Azula: Rope? I don't see any rope!

Toph: Neither do I, but here's the trapdoor for ya'!

Sokka: Earthbending Drop That Bitch's Ass Down the Well technique! Nice, Toph, niiiice!

Toph: Thanks, Sokka. Glad a girly girl's-shaving-cream-pilferer-player like you can appreciate some good old-fashioned Earthbending magic tricks.

Sokka: Show me more! Show me more!

Toph: Yeah, maybe later behind the scenes. If you're lucky.

Sokka: Then I'll rub this Rabbaroo foot until I'm lucky enough!

Cabbage Merchant:I've tried that approach, young man, and believe me, it doesn't work. I haven't gotten lucky at all! Oh, why me!

Mai: I can tell why _not_ you, Old Man. It's because you smell like cabbage, and you're never going to get lucky, smelling like that.

Zuko: I love it when you're feisty.

Mai: And _you_ could stand to put on more antiperspirant.

Zuko: Wh—God! Sorry I even said anything!

Mai: I thought you liked it when I was feisty.

Zuko: Yeah, feisty, but not _insulting_.

Mai: Gee, sorry to point out your occasional laxness on the whole bodily hygiene front. It's just because you're so busy being a good Fire Lord and bettering your Nation and its people that you don't have time to think about it, and somebody's got to tell you. And I want that person to be me.

Zuko: Yeah, it might be better to do that behind closed doors and not on _A DISCUSSION PANEL!_

Mai: …Point taken. I'm sorry.

Zuko: What was that?

Mai: You know what it was. Do you forgive me?

Zuko: How could I stay mad at you? I "kind of like" you too much to hold a grudge.

Mai: And I "kind of like" _you_ too much to dump you for being smelly sometimes.

Toph: Okay, interrupting this, uh, charming "kind of likers" quarrel, we're going to really move on this time with the actual thing we're here to discuss. General Iroh, we haven't heard from you yet. You've lived a long time; surely you have something to say about cross-dressing? Any encounters? Personal experiences?

Zuko: Uncle, wake up!

Iroh: Huh? Oh, I was napping. It was a dream of a hundred beautiful women who all wanted to dance the Cuca-roast-a with me, but when I took them by the hands, they turned into very strange-looking men in drag. I wonder why?

Toph: Don't nap during cross-dressing talks. All your nightmares will end the same way.

Iroh: Aaaw. But they were so pretty from far away.

Zuko: _Uncle!_ Do not shame yourself!

Iroh: What? You weren't there. You don't know what happened.

Zuko: _Ugh!_

Sokka: Yeah, I don't think we want to hear from Iroh, you guys. In fact, none of you are talking about the topic at hand! But I have some words on the topic, and I'm going to share them.

Zuko: Oh, this should be good.

Sokka: Now, cross-dressing is funny because guys dressed up and looking ridiculous in girls' clothes? What's not to love? And girls dressed up as guys is sometimes not so funny, but if done right, it can be, as in the case of the Ember Island Players' play when that one girl played Aang? That was hysterical! I couldn't have cast the part better myself, so props to the director for a great sense of humor. (For that part of the play, at least, 'cuz the ending really sucked.) Now, cross-dressing is funny _most_ of them time, but sometimes it's not. Like, if guys look too much like girls, and another guy can't tell and maybe accidentally hits on him? Not cool. And as for girls as guys, Smellerbee? _No_ idea she was a girl. That wasn't funny, it was creepy.

Katara: Sokka, Smellerbee does not cross-dress!

Sokka: Yeah, she does! Practically! I mean, you can't tell she's a she, and she wears guys' clothes!

Toph: I wear guys' clothes sort of.

Sokka: Yeah, but that's different.

Katara: How is that different?

Sokka: Well, Toph is cute, so you can _tell_ she's a girl.

Aang: Toph, are you okay? Your face is all red.

Toph: Shut it, Twinkletoes!

Aang: Just worrying about you. Sheesh.

Zuko: Can we just end this already? I have things to do. You know, remuneration meetings, forest restoration meetings, meetings about meetings. I'm a busy guy here.

Sokka: Too busy for us now that you're Fire Lord, you mean? Fine then. Go on. The rest of us will just stay here and have a wonderful discussion _sans you._

Aang: Actually, I kind of have some things I need to take care of, too…

Sokka: What? Aang, you can't leave! You're the titular character! You have to _always_ be around.

Aang: Where does it say that? I didn't sign any contract.

Sokka: You didn't have to! That's not the way it works!

Aang: Sokka, I'm sorry, but I've really gotta fly. See ya!

Katara: Me, too. See you at home, Sokka!

Sokka: Aang, Katara, come back here! You—_gaugh!_ And where do you think the rest of you are going?

Mai: We're leaving, too. Get out of the way.

Sokka: But you can't! This is my first big gig! I could get on a TV show after this, become _a star!_ If you guys leave, then the discussion is a total failure, and my dreams for fame will _never_ come true! Come baaack!

Toph: Sokka, let them go. We have some things to talk about.

Sokka: Aw, like what?

Toph: Well, for starters, this discussion thing-a-ma-doo has nothing to do with you getting on TV.

Sokka: _Aaaww!_

Toph: Second, about being on TV…where have you been for the past three years?

Sokka: Huh? How do you mean?

Toph: It must be nice and spacious in that head of yours…

--

Fin

--

--

A/N:

This one's not so much a romantic piece as it is a straight up comedy fic, but I wanted to switch it up a little and use several characters I haven't included yet. This is basically just meant to be an amusing and quick read for everyone as summer is coming to an end for many of us, and school is just on the horizon, if it's not here already. (Seriously, my brother just went back to school today!)

So yeah, I hope you all enjoyed my Day 6 entry! I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of Tokka Week, though! I wish it could go on and on, though I'm sure my muse and creative enthusiasm would ditch me before long. I think Tokka Week will live on, though, because with everyone generating so many fanfics (and fanart on deviantART), I'd like to think the fandom for the Tokka ship will spread, whether or not Mike and Brian (Avatar creators) decide to continue the Avatar world in any way, shape or form. (Sidenote: 3 one-hour movies rumor sounds amazing! I have little hope for a Book 4, though. : / But there is always the movie trilogy and what that may bring!) Anyway, Long live Tokka and the Tokka fandom! And please tune in tomorrow!

--

P.S.

Niach: Sokka, do you want to say it?

Sokka: Yes, yes! Pass the mic!

Niach: Here you go.

Sokka: This girl right here does NOT own Avatar, none of its characters, none of its events, none of its awesomeness, _NONE_ of it! There, how was that? Wasn't I awesome? Hey, why are you sobbing uncontrollably like that?

Niach: …No…sob…reason…WAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!


	9. Day7 Promise

Tokka Week

--

Day 7

--

Promise

--

--

I told Princess Yue's father I'd keep his daughter safe.

I told Suki we'd always be together.

And then I told Toph that she'd always be my best friend.

It turns out I can only make promises I can't keep.

Katara tried to tell me that's not true. She said, "But what about your promise to Dad that you'd take over leadership for the Invasion when he got hurt? You promised him you'd make it back, and you did."

I told her that was different. That was a promise between warriors, between a man and a son. It was more like an understanding. Those kinds of promises are just understandings between men.

But promises to women are different. They usually involve love and being together and stuff, and it's those that I just can't keep somehow. For each of those promises I break, a heart breaks, too. And then having broken someone's heart is enough to break mine, and I wind up alone and miserable and wishing I could change things, even though I know I can never fix any of it. Yue will always be the moon and my first love; Suki will always be my first kiss and first break up; and Toph…Toph will always be my best friend, so I guess I've kept that promise.

But unlike the two promises I couldn't keep, the one I made to Toph…I don't want to keep that one.

When I made that stupid promise, I was still involved with Suki. Things weren't so great between us, and I started spending more time with Toph. I felt freer when I was with her, as cliché as that sounds. I guess it was just that Suki and I grew up, and we grew apart, and neither of us wanted to accept that, not after everything we'd been through together. She wanted to keep me the way I'd always been with her before, but I just couldn't—I don't think anyone can—but like a coward I didn't want to be the one to say it was over. So I avoided Suki and all our problems and went to Toph.

I could have humility with her without feeling humiliated like it sometimes was with Suki. Yeah, Toph always makes fun of me and always has, but with Toph that's just how she shows she cares, let's you know she's thinking about you because she gave _you_ her time of day. And she never really asked questions either. At least none she expected me to answer. She's said before that she can tell when people are lying by the change in their heartbeat. Maybe she never expected me to verbally answer her questions because she could read my bodily answers by the change of my heart. Or maybe we'd been friends for so long that she could just read _me_.

So Suki and I broke up for a million reasons, but really just for the one reason: neither of us was "the one" for the other. Not that I believe that any of us has only one true love in life, but there is a difference between a "for now" love and a "forever" love. Suki was a "for now" love that I needed for a long time. But not for the rest of my life. That was hard enough for me to deal with; but telling Suki felt impossible, but necessary, and impossibly necessary all at once. That break-up hurt so bad, and I don't know which was worse in the grand scheme of my love life: Yue choosing her people over me, or me choosing me over Suki. I'll probably never have an answer for that.

And you would think Toph and I would have gotten together, but we didn't. She confronted me two months after my split with Suki—she waited an entire two months before she said _anything _ to me about us—asking me how I felt about her, if I cared about her as more than a friend. I was so lost and confused then that I almost said 'yes' because I missed being in a relationship, whether it was a good one or not. But something held me back. For whatever reason—maybe that I didn't want to hurt our friendship, or I didn't want to ruin my chances with her before I was truly ready to move on, or maybe I was too emotionally drained to even consider the possibility of thinking about her in that way—whatever it was, I told her 'no.'

And she did the unthinkable.

She cried.

I never saw it coming. It was the first thing I would have expected from any other girl, but not from Toph. From Toph it was the last thing I expected.

So there she was, crying in front of me, and I had no idea what to do. As usual, though, that didn't stop me. I took her in my arms and held her as she cried and said she'd been waiting so long and I still didn't want her, and I couldn't say anything except we'd always be best friends, and that just made her cry harder.

And now we get to why I can't keep that promise. I finally figured out how I feel about Toph, and if she asked me again whether I liked her as more than a friend, I would have a different answer for her today than I did back then.

But now I'm too late. She's with another guy, and she's happy. They're both happy, and they're happy together, two conditions which sound like the same thing, but really aren't. It's selfish to say that I wish they weren't so happy together, but the fact of them being together makes me severely _un_happy. I want Toph for myself, and the existence of a 'they' impedes my chances for a 'we' with Toph. And now I need to do something about.

But I'm not going to. If Toph and I are going to be together, she needs to know that it is she, and not I, who make that choice for her. When she was ready before, I wasn't ; and now that I'm ready, she's not. She gave me time to come to my senses and find my way to her, but right now I need to be her best friend and return the favor of understanding and patience. I will be her best friend for however long it takes, and when the day comes for me to ask whether she likes me as more than a friend, that will be the day I break my promise. Because when she answers me on that day, she will either say 'yes' and we'll become more than friends, or she'll say 'no' and our friendship will not survive our broken hearts.

And that is why I can't keep my promise to Toph and why I'm just no good at keeping any promise made to a woman at all. I will be her best friend for as long as she needs me, but I can't be her best friend forever. I just can't do that.

Because even though I can't keep a promise, I've made another one.

But this one's to myself.

I promise myself that I will never give up on Toph. I will wait for her, no matter how long it takes. Even if our friendship suffers, I will always be there for her because I don't want her to disappear from my life like Yue did, and I don't want us to become strangers like what happened with Suki. So I promise myself I will never give up on the girl I forever love because I already know that the vows I may take with her one day will be the promises I will forever keep.

--

Fin

--

--

A/N:

Not exactly bidding farewell to Tokka Week with an especially lovey-dovey funny fluffy piece with this one, but again, I wanted to try something different, and I like how this turned out. Did anyone notice that the entire thing is Sokka's train of thought, but his name is never mentioned (until just now)? I thought that would be a nice touch, an interesting bit of trivia for those who like that kind of thing (I love that kind of thing).

I originally thought about doing a similar reflective type of piece, except from Toph's perspective, but I switched to Sokka instead. I'm not entirely sure why I decided on him (except to say it was an inner, practically subconscious decision), but I can say with some degree of certainty that I balked at the idea of delivering a serious piece entirely from Toph's perspective. I might take a stab at writing a serious P.O.V. from her at some point, but tonight Sokka inspired me, and a smart writer knows never to dispute the muse. (Unless that muse provides only bad ideas more harmful than helpful!)

As always, I look forward to your all's feedback. And since this is the last day, I would like once again say Happy Tokka Week to all of you readers and fellow contributors out there, and, of course to Tokka Week organizers on deviantART, LiveJournal, ffnet, and everywhere else! Many, many thanks to all from this very satisfied Tokka fan!

--

P.S.

I don't own Avatar, and I don't own Tokka Week.

I do own this fanfic, though, so please R/R!!


End file.
